Lady Nimue
Heir Apparent
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2014
- Messages
- 4,418
- City
- Pacific Palisades CA
- Country
- United States
Has anyone ever thought about that the reason for the Queen , Catherine ZJ etc holding the hands of their daughters in public is that the children get scared by the crowds and the press? On the same day as the Palma incident we had little James Severn crying outside St George's Chapel and last year Vincent of Denmark started crying at the photo opp on his first day at school.
Outstanding insight! Thank you, thank you for bringing this up! I have been thinking that Letizia (and Felipe, and Sofia btw) touching and holding hands with the children is a way to keep the girls focused and within the circle of family intimacy in the face of the very non-intimate experience of being in front of the crowds and cameras.
Braving the cameras and crowds can be disorienting for seasoned adults, imagine the experience for youngsters. Note that all royals hold their children's hands and will have their hands on their children one way or another when facing crowds.
There are two very famous royal princes who were 'required' to face crowds very young. One of those princes is now a parent and fiercely protective of his children. The photo-op for the first day of school for his first born child was not in front of a crowd for example, but just one photographer. These choices by someone who has lived exposure to the crowds as a youngster should not go unnoticed.
I don't like it when I see Queen Sofia or Queen Letizia holding hands with both girls, or any celebrity doing it. They are teenagers now, not toddlers, for me it looks ridiculous. Kids can stand for themselves at that age and the only explaination for me is that holding hands with a teenage kid is good PR, like 'look how close I am to my child'.
This I cannot understand as the children are not yours and you have no idea what it is like to face a crowd of cameras (I assume). If a child is pulling away in such a situation (afraid of what others will say because they are holding hands with their parent ) I would say the parent has greater concerns (as would I) for the child. The girls btw are not teenagers (yet).
No one can judge how a parent decides to manage the significant psychological onslaught a child experiences in front of crowds and cameras. The parent must be the judge imo, not the opinion of the public. (I have never been the focus of crowds and cameras but I have been with another who is and I can vouch for the exceedingly disorienting experience: thank the heavens for the 'handlers' because it's hard to stay 'on task', at least for me).
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